Local government union, Unison has written to local government minister, claiming an Essex CC outsourcing plan is ‘unlawful'. Head of local government at the union, Heather Wakefield, claims the council has made a decision to externalise its services, without consulting members or the cabinet. She told The MJ it was ‘extraordinary' that the council had put the contract out without following ‘due process'. However, a spokesman for Essex CC claimed no decision had been made, but the council had invited tenders through OJEC for potential. ‘We are simply seeing what the market can offer us,' he said. He added that the authority, which hopes to make £200m of savings, would go through the proper processes before a decision was made.
